Sea Dogs Get Better of RubberDucks in Hitting Duel

Portland's Bobby Dalbec swatted a long RBI single in the ninth inning, snapping a 9-9 tie, and leading the Sea Dogs to a 10-9 win over the Akron RubberDucks in the opener of a three-game series Friday night at Canal Park in Akron, Ohio.

Turning Point

The Sea Dogs (48-67) picked up three consecutive hits to start the ninth off Argenis Angulo (2-4) to take the lead. Johnny Bladel and Michael Chavis put immediate pressure on with singles. Bladec,, who has a combined, 30 homers between High-A and the Sea Dogs, belted a single off the wall in right, scoring Bladel to give Portland a 10-9 lead. It was Dalbec's seventh RBI since being promoted to Double-A.

Mound Presence

No pitcher was safe or immune to damage. The teams combined for eight wild pitches and 13 walks. Akron used five relievers after starter Sean Brady gave up six runs in four innings. Portland's Josh Taylor (2-4) picked up the win in relief with 2.2 scoreless innings, although he was charged with a blown save after allowing the tying run to score in the Akron seventh.

Duck Tales

The RubberDucks (66-51) scored five times, taking advantage of four walks by Portland starter Daniel McGrath, in the third inning to take a 5-1 lead. Portland came back with five in the fourth, including a three-run homer by Austin Rei, to take a 6-5 lead. The Ducks tied the game, 6-6, in the sixth on a run-scoring single by Gian Paul Gonzalez, his first Double-A hit. Portland forged ahead with three in the seventh off Kieran Lovegrove, powered by a two-run homer by Jordan Betts, but Akron rallied to tie it, 9-9, with three in the bottom of the seventh. Ka'ai Tom's two-run single off Taylor knotted the score.

Notebook

Akron lost its fifth straight game, but did not lose ground in the EL West race as Altoona lost at home to Erie, 3-1...Thus, Akron still holds a three-game lead with 23 to play...Six Ducks pitchers combined for a season-high, 15 strikeouts...Tom was 3-4, on the night...Outfielder Jodd Carter made his Double-A debut for Akron and went 0-4...Time of game: 3:26... Attendance: 6,921.

On the Pond

The RubberDucks and Sea Dogs will play the middle game of the series on Saturday night at 7:05. The game will be broadcast on Fox Sports 1350 AM, the WARF iHeart channel, and the TuneIn Radio App.